Clothes-retainer bar for trunks.



G. H. WHEARY.

CLOTHES RETAINER BAR FOR TRUNKS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 22,1912.

1,1 L1 Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

WITNESSES.

MWM

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GEORGE H. WHEARY, 0F RACINE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE I-IARTMANN TRUNK COMPANY, OF EACINE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

CLOTHES-RETAINER BAR non TRUNKS.

speciiication of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

Application filed April 22, 1912. Serial No. 692,331.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonon H. VVHEARY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Retainer Bars for Trunks, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in clothes retainer bars which are particularly adapted for use in wardrobe and other trunks.

Trunks of the wardrobe type are usually provided with clothes retainer bars or followers which are adapted to hold the medial portions of garments suspended from hangers connected to the upper portion of the compartment. These retainer bars in the higher grade trunks are usually slidably, adjustably and removably connected at opposite ends to bands or straps fastened to the side Walls of the compartment. In practice it has been found that the side walls of the compartments warp to a greater or less extent and that it is somewhat difficult for an inexperienced person to engage the opposite bands or straps with the end portions of the retainer bar, due to the increased or lessened distance betweensaid bands, and it becomes necessary to force the compartment walls together or spring them apart in order to space the bands the proper distance apart to be engaged by said retainer bar.

It is one of the objects of this invention to overcome the foregoing objectionable features and to provide a retainer bar which is adapted to be elongated or contracted to compensate for the varying distancesapart of the bands or straps.

A further object of the invention is to provide a retainer bar which is strong and durable and which may be easily elongated or contracted to fit the wall bands.

With the above and otherobjects in view, the invention consists of the improved retainer bar and its parts and'com'binations, as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the views: Figure 1 is a transverse horizontal sectional View of a wardrobe trunk provided with the improved retainer bar; Fig.2 is a front View, on a larger scale, of the medial portion of the bar; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional detail View taken on line 33 of Fig. 2, the parts. being shown in contracted position; Fig. e-is a similarview with the parts shown in expanded position; Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional detail view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a perspective view, on a reduced scale, of one of the connecting members; Fig. 7 is a similar view of the other connecting member; and Fig. 8 is a front detail View of one end of the retainer bar and a portion of the band.

Referring to the drawing the numeral 10 indicates the garment compartment of a trunk and 11 a portion of a cover hinged thereto. The garment compartment is of ordinary construction and is provided in its upper portion withthe usual garment hangers (not shown) which support the garments in extended position. A metal guide band or retainer bar engaging member 12, bent to conform approximately to the shape in cross section of the three sides of the wardrobe compartment of the trunk, is rigidly fastened to the inner walls of said compartment and also serves to reinforce said walls. Medial parts of the side portions 13 of said band are spaced a slight distance from the side walls of the compartment to accommodate the end portions of bolt casings 1% which are carried by a retainer lock the said bar in adjusted position. The i band engaging ends of the bolt casings are provided with projecting portions 19 which extend over the spaced portions of the band and also have shoulders 20 formed thereon which extend between the spaced portions of the band and the compartment walls. These projections and shoulders loosely fit over the side edges of the spaced portions of the band and the bar ends bear against the inner faces of the band, thus securely ber 21. The connecting member 20 extends 7 over the sides and opposite edges of the abutting end portions of the retainer bar and the side edges of the member which partly overlap the front face portion of the bar are spaced apart approximately onehalf the width of the bar to form an elongated space 22 to accommodate the offset member 21. v The member 20 is connected at one end to one of the bar portions by rivets 23c and the free end portion 24; thereof extends over the other abutting end portion of the bar and slides freely thereon,

' The side edges of the free end portion of the member 20 extend inwardly toward each other a greater distance than the other edge portions to form stop shoulders 24. The

offset member 21, which is of a width tosnugly fit within the widest portion of the elongated space 22 of the other member is provided with a medial offset portion 25 which straddles or overlaps the shouldered v edge portions of the other member to limit the movement of the bar portions with relation to each other. The opposite ends of the offset member are fastened to the bar portion upon which it rests by rivets 26. This limited slidable connection between the bar I poriionsis sufficient to permit the bar to be extended or contracted and to permit the ends .of the bar to easily engage the side portions of the band without eliminating the reinforcing feature of the bar, as it is obvious that when the bar has reached the limit of its movement in either direction it will then be stopped and any further movementof the compartment walls, either inwardly or outwardly, will be resisted by the bar. The. connecting members also serve to hold the bar against lateral bending.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the retainer bar is adapted to be easily removed or replaced in the trunk compartment and also serves to reinforce the trunk.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. The combination with a trunk section having guide means on its inner opposite sides, of a clothes retainer bar therefor comprising a two part bar having its outer ends removably connected to the opposite guide means, the inner end portions of said bar limitedly slidably connected together in abutting relation and guided to prevent lateral or edgewise movement of said parts with relation to each other and also to reinforce the side walls of the trunk section.

2. The combination with a trunk section having guide means on its inner opposite sides, of a clothes retainer bar therefor com prising a two part bar having its outer ends removably connected to the opposite guide means and its inner ends positioned adjacent each other in abutting relation, and a guide means fastened to the inner end portion o one of the bars and extending around the inner end portion of the other bar for holding the said end parts limitedly slidably connected together and for preventing latoral or edgewise movement of said bars with relation to each other and also to reinforce the side walls of the trunk.

3. A clothes retainer, comprising a two part bar having its inner ends positioned adjacent to each other, a member extending over the adjacent end portions of the bar and fastened to one of the portions, and another member fastened to the inner end of the adjacent bar portion and straddling a portion of the first mentioned member to limit the lengthwise movement of said bar portions with relation to each other.

4. A clothes retainer, comprising a two part bar having its inner ends positioned adjacent to and in alinement with each other, a connecting member extending over the adjacent end portions of the bar and fastened to one of the end portions thereof, the side edges of said member provided with shoulders and being separated to form an elongated space, an offset member extending into the elongated space and straddling the shouldered portions of the connecting member and fastened to the inner adjacent end of the portion of the bar not fastened to the connecting member to limit the lengthwise movement of said bar portions with relation to each other, and means for adjustably attaching the outer ends of the bar to the side walls of a trunk.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE I-I. VHEARY.

Witnesses:

CLINT D. FnAznLL, MAX BLOCI-I.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

